Jakarta, July 20 -- KM III Barcelona, a passenger vessel serving Talaud-Manado route, caught fire in Talise waters off Minahasa Utara District, North Sulawesi, on Sunday afternoon, causing a pregnant woman to die.

A massive rescue mission has been launched involving several ships from the Indonesian Navy (TNI AL), Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla), and a local search and rescue agency.

"The naval vessels dispatched for the search and rescue mission are KRI Pari and KAL Tedung Selar," Commander of the TNI AL Fleet Command Vice Admiral Denih Hendrata told ANTARA in Jakarta on Sunday.

The VIII/Manado Naval Base had urged local fishermen to help evacuate passengers and crew members of the ship, which caught fire near Talise Isl...